Ibolya Eva,
       You wonder if a six-week old could be teething.  Absolutely!  Some
babies are born with teeth, so it is possible for a newborn to be teething.  My
first child started teething at 8 weeks.  At the time, a cold plastic teething
ring was the only thing that made him feel better.  It was pretty hard on me
the first month or so (he didn't cut that first tooth until he was 6 mos old!)
because he couldn't hold the teething ring himself yet, so I had to hold it in
his mouth for long periods for him.  Somewhere between 3 and 4 months, he
could finally hold it himself and get it to his own mouth, so then things got a
little easier for me.  This was 23 years ago.  Now there are numerous baby
teething gels and homeopathic remedies, as well as still the teething toys, though
there is concern about letting babies rub their gums on the plastic for such
long times.
       I have seen some teething babies have more trouble at night because
the house is quiet and there is nothing going on to distract them from their
pain.  I have also seen some teething babies do better at night than day because
(it seems to me) at night they are drowsy and possibly not sucking as
vigorously so maybe not causing quite so much pain from pressure on the gums.  And
then there are the babies who want to do nothing *but* nurse while teething
because the pressure of the breast on their gums seems to dull the pain for them.
       Sometimes letting a baby gnaw on a frozen carrot for a few minutes
before nursing can numb the pain enough for them to breastfeed more comfortably.
However, you can only use the frozen carrot until that first tooth breaks
through the gum.  At that point, you must stop immediately the use of a carrot
because the very sharp new tooth can break off a chunk of the carrot and the
baby could choke on it.  Mom could also try keeping a clean damp washcloth in the
refrigerator (not the freezer)--keep it in a plastic bag until time to use
it--and let baby gnaw on the cold washcloth a couple of minutes before
breastfeeding.
       Dee

Dee Kassing, BS, MLS, IBCLC
Collinsville, Illinois, in central USA

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